Aurum the Blaze
by MechaUltimaZero
Summary: A hellspawn of Genesis defected to the WRO, and brought Shelke with him to her sister Shalua. Aurum the Blaze betrayed virtually everything he's known for over a decade. But as Naruto Uzumaki, he's not a traitor at all. Naruto/Shalua Rui Set in DoC.
1. Prologue: Welcome Home, Defection

**Aurum the Blaze**

Prologue: Defection

**For those who haven't played **_**Dirge of Cerberus – Final Fantasy VII –,**_** either rent/buy/borrow it, or find a strategy guide that's overflowing with spoilers, since otherwise, a lot of the story won't make sense. You could also go to the Final Fantasy Wiki, but it means you'd have to look at a hell of a lot of pages, most notably Vincent, Shelke, Shalua, Weiss, Nero, Genesis, and Deepground. It would also be beneficial to research Reeve, the other Tsviets (Azul and Rosso)… possibly even Hojo and Lucrecia. You know what? Either play the game, find a spoilerific guide, or just look up the entire damned FFVII universe on an as-needed basis.**

'_It hasn't stormed like this since before Meteorfall',_ the young woman thought. Turning back to her book, she continued enjoying one of her precious few moments of spare time. Normally, she'd have been asleep long before, but had the next day off, so she was planning to sleep in anyway.

And spare time, along with vacation days, were two very convenient things that, between fighting and her scientific research, Shalua Rui had very little of.

Just as she was preparing to turn the page, she heard a semi-weak pounding at the door. Raising an eyebrow, asked herself, _'Who the hell…?'_ before putting down the novel and walking getting up.

Shalua opened the door as far as the security chain allowed before asking, "You _do_ know it's almost three in the morning, don't you?"

It was too dark to tell who her sudden visitor was, but she reached for her gun when a pair of eyes opened in the ebony night. The only way she could observe the action was due to one very simple fact: the iris glowed like smoldering embers from a recent bonfire.

She subconsciously muttered, "Mako…?" before demanding, "I don't know who you are, but you'd better have a damned good reason for coming here in the middle of the night during one of the worst storms in recent history. Talk quickly, or I'll blast your brains all over the street."

The owner of the crimson-gold eyes chuckled for a moment, before replying, "Before you attempt to carry out your threat, I must admit I'm not entirely sure that I have the right house. Are you Shalua Rui, of the WRO?"

At that, Shalua glared with her one eye in response, before inquiring, "Who wants to know?"

From the voice, she discerned that this… _character_ was male, and judging by depth, most likely mid-way through adolescence. Still, she didn't trust anyone until they'd earned it, which took some doing indeed.

The mako-enhanced stranger blinked for a second, before murmuring, "I'll take that as a yes." Then, he closed his eyes for a few moments more, before opening them once again and making a very short statement that rocked the WRO soldier/scientist's world.

"Your sister and I would like to come in, please."

At the mention of her sister, Shalua was petrified with shock for a few seconds, before refocusing her cycloptic glare upon the intruder, daring to hope that she'd heard correctly. In a whisper, mostly due to the shock, she asked, "What did you just say?"

Shalua somehow felt like the stranger had raised an eyebrow, which was confirmed with his reply: "I believe I spoke clearly and concisely, but I'll repeat it nonetheless. Your sister and I would like to come in, please," he quoted himself verbatim. Then, for extra effect, he added, "As you so kindly pointed out to us earlier, it _is_ rather wet out here, after all."

The man's dry wit (or attempt thereof) briefly returned the WRO scientist to her senses, and undid the security chain, before allowing him in while he half-carried another, smaller figure.

The second figure quietly asked, "Are we… in… Aurum?"

He replied, "I told you not to call me that anymore, but yes. At least for the time being, we've got a safe house."

The girl murmured, "So… tired…" as she went back to sleep. The stranger, evidently called Aurum, extricated his associate from the overlarge coat she'd been in, presumably in a vain attempt to keep dry, thus revealing a nine-year old girl with brick-red hair and wearing a close-fitting uniform, which had neon-blue lines running through it – weak energy pulses that Shalua recognized also to be mako. **(1)**

Shalua Rui recognized her sister instantly, because even though ten years had passed, Shelke literally hadn't aged a day. Just as the scientist was about to rush to her side, her visitor raised a hand to stop her and softly said, "Not yet, Doctor Rui. I understand that you want to catch up with her and everything, but neither Shelke nor myself have eaten, slept, or really even stopped running for the last two days. Let her rest, and until she wakes up, I'll answer whatever questions you have."

Shalua sighed and nodded; the man made sense, even though she _seriously_ wanted to find out what had happened. Something told her, though, that the man who'd brought Shelke would be able to answer that.

"Just who are you, anyway?" she asked.

The man removed his hood, allowing a clear view of his face as the amber glow in his eyes disappeared, revealing a sky-blue iris. The young man looked to be about fifteen or sixteen, and was a few inches shorter than Shalua was. Due to his coat and attire, she couldn't determine his build, though the heavy-looking sword on his back indicated he was probably far from weak. Shalua also had to admit that this blonde had the spikiest hair she'd ever seen, second only to Cloud Strife. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Naruto Uzumaki, but you're probably more familiar with the alias I've been trapped using for the last decade. They called me Aurum the Blaze, of the Tsviets. The fact that I'm therefore a Deepground soldier should go without saying. Now before you bombard me with questions, I make a very serious inquiry of my own. How might I defect to the WRO?"

Shalua instantly froze from shock and surprise. How likely was it that one of her organization's most powerful enemies suddenly wanted to join forces, and had brought her sister with him to boot?

"I'm sorry, but between a Tsviet asking to join the WRO and you bringing my sister back to me, I can't really think straight at the moment. Maybe we should talk in the morning? Shelke's clearly tired, so am I, somewhat, and if you've gone through as much as you said in the last few days, then you could use some rest too."

Aurum – or, as he'd said his real name was, Naruto – looked as if he were about to protest, but after thinking it over for a few seconds, acquiesced. "That's fair enough. Better that everyone have a clear head."

**(1): A really bad attempt to describe Shelke's Deepground uniform. You're probably better off just going to the FFWiki like I suggested in the AN at the top.**

**Also, the original pairing was going to be Naruto/Shelke, but after playing Dirge of Cerberus again, I figured that Shalua would be a better fit. Now, I'm thinking of making his girlfriend an OC Tsviet, or maybe even just a DG Elite – you know, one of those soldiers that are stronger than the grunts, and have a Shield Materia which makes them impervious to gunfire… I've got so many plausible scenarios to choose from that I just can't decide. Also, bear in mind that all of the Tsviets are generally at the same power level as SOLDIER First Class, particularly Weiss, Nero, Rosso, and Azul, since they've been spliced with Genesis's genes. Also, in this fic, so have Naruto/Aurum and Ochre the Swift, **_**if**_** I include her. Remember that Deepground is really a subunit of SOLDIER, when you think about it.**

**Here's brief data on the OC options:**

**Tsviet:**

**Name: Ochre the Swift**

**Meaning: "Ochre" is a synonym for "yellow", thus keeping the theme of colored names**

**Age: 14 (mental); 12 (physical)**

**Appearance: Eh… kind of like Naminé from the Kingdom Hearts universe, I guess, but in different attire. I'll decide what later. A little shorter than her base influence. Eye color is normally brown, but will glow neon blue at certain times.**

**Special ability/trait: the only Tsviets faster than her are Weiss (because of Omega) and Nero, because he can teleport.**

**Weapon: TBD, but probably a handgun or two… like Elena.**

**Personality: sort of a cross between Hinata and Isaribi, I suppose.**

**Power level: Stronger than Shelke (who, despite being nine years old, **_**is**_** capable of defeating pretty much everyone in Deepground except the other Tsviets) but weaker than Azul, Rosso, and Nero.**

**DG Elite:**

**Name: TBD**

**Age: late teens/early twenties**

**Appearance: TBD**

**Weapon: katana, rifle, and handgun**

**Power level: among the most skilled soldiers in all of Deepground, but still no match for any of the Tsviets.**

**Thus, I'll make it a poll:**

**Naruto's girlfriend can be either:**

**Shalua Rui**

**Ochre the Swift (OC Tsviet)**

**OC Deepground Elite**


	2. Chapter One: Negotiation of Terms

**Aurum the Blaze**

Chapter One: Negotiation of Terms

**AT LAST! MY TRIUMPHANT RETURN!**

**Anyhow, there are a number of reasons I've been busy lately, including school, videogames, and more goddamn school. But hey, on the bright side – GO AMERICA! Osama Bin Ladin is dead; the families of those who died in 9/11 are finally going to get some closure, ne?**

* * *

_Last time, on Aurum the Blaze…_

"_I'm sorry, but between a Tsviet asking to join the WRO and you bringing my sister back to me, I can't really think straight at the moment. Maybe we should talk in the morning? Shelke's clearly tired, so am I, somewhat, and if you've gone through as much as you said in the last few days, then you could use some rest too."_

_[Aurum] looked as if he were about to protest, but after thinking it over for a few seconds, acquiesced. "That's fair enough. Better that everyone have a clear head."_

_And now, the continuation…_

_The next day…_

Aurum, as had often been the case while in Deepground, was the first to awaken. For an instant, he couldn't remember where he was, before the previous night's events came back to him.

As the Blaze made a mental note to avoid sleeping on the couch again, considering how uncomfortable it was, he did a few light stretches, all the while observing Shalua Rui's humble abode.

Thus far, he'd only seen the living room, but even so, he could make a few deductions. To begin with, he noted that everything had been cleaned recently, within the last three days if he could accurately judge the buildup of dust. Anything and everything was organized in one way or another. It was a moderately large room, which had a couch, a reclining chair, along with a "study desk", as he called it, which had upon it a military-grade computer in addition to a printer. The desk had three drawers on the left side, along with a shelf on the top which was covered with data disks.

On the opposite side of the room was a television set, about 46". On the wall to his left, opposite the door, was a bookcase with eight shelves on it, each of them completely filled. Having finished his morning stretches, Aurum wondered if there was anything he might read while waiting for the girls to awaken.

The top four shelves were entirely taken up with research materials, with the two shelves under that buried with journals and the like – or so they appeared to be at a glance. In stark contrast to the above six, however, the final two shelves were filled with graphic novels and manga, such as _Watchmen_.

He heard soft footsteps on the semi-thick carpet an instant before Shalua asked, "Looking for something in particular?"

Aurum shook his head before turning to the elder scientist/soldier and replying, "Just something to do while I wait for you and your sister to wake up, that's all."

A few seconds later, he heard the younger Rui sister arise, and then walk into the living room.

Shalua asked, "Well then, now that we're all up, let's get some breakfast, and then we'll talk. Do either of you want something specific?"

After glancing at the clock, the Blaze noted that he had roughly four hours remaining before anything became critical, said, "Not really, but – and I say this on matter of principle – something that's made quickly and easily would be preferable. I'm not trying to be rude, but there are things that must be done, and quickly. The sooner we can begin, the better."

Shelke nodded in agreement, and Shalua inwardly sighed. _Well, at least they don't want anything extravagant._

The one-eyed, one-armed scientist wasn't feeling too excellent anyway, so she simply made cereal for the three of them, and gave each of her guests a bowl. The short breakfast was silent and awkward, and in an attempt to get the ball rolling, Aurum said, "Now before you start asking questions, we need a mako tank, and quickly – not to mention a decent supply of mako energy itself. Where's the closest means to fulfill this requirement?"

Shalua caught off guard by the request/demand, asked, "What do you need it for?"

While she could certainly obtain the mako without too much trouble, she'd be damned before she did so without knowing what it would be used for. To her surprise, though, it was Shelke who answered: "Without regular mako treatments, this body would deteriorate rapidly – it would wither into nothingness in sixty hours. My last treatment was fifty-four hours ago."

Shalua cried out, "Wait a minute, you're telling me that you've only got six hours to live?" Then, she turned to Aurum and shouted, "Why the hell didn't you bring this up _sooner_?"

In an instant, the Blaze had Shalua against the wall, hand over her mouth, with his eyes glowing that same smoldering golden-red as the night before. After a second or two, however, his eyes resumed their normal azure color, and he stared at his hand for a moment, before gently removing it and stepping back about ten feet. "I… I apologize. I acted purely on reflex, before I could think about what I was doing."

While the WRO scientist wouldn't normally have believed someone saying something like that – not even for a second, Aurum actually sounded as though alarmed at himself. Shalua coughed a little and rose to her feet, and she caught him staring at his hand, as though it had genuinely done something without the consent of its master. Aurum shook himself out of it after a moment, however, at which point he resumed, "In answer to your query, Shelke requested that I wait until morning to bring it up, so that we'd all be awake."

Then, with a sardonic chuckle, he added, "And I daresay that, at this point, we are all most certainly wide awake."

Shalua refrained from commenting at his attempt to lighten the mood again, before picking up her phone from the table, and dialing a borderline over-called number.

"Reeve? It's Shalua Rui. I've got some… interesting news to tell you later, but first, I need you to get a Mako tank ready for use in less than six hours – I'll tell you why on my way up….. Let's just say that I finally found my reason to live."

After another few seconds, Shalua hung up the phone, before grabbing a set of keys and heading for the door. When neither of the ex-Tsviets made to follow, the scientist turned around and asked, "Well move it! Didn't you say we only had six hours?"

Aurum confirmed, "Closer to five and a half by now, but yes."

Quickly securing his cloak, sword, and a handgun Shalua hadn't noticed the night before, the Blaze fell into rapid step behind the Rui sisters, his military instincts beginning to manifest.

Within moments, the trio had entered the back of an armor-reinforced Jeep with the roof and doors removed, and a gatling gun in the back. There was room for a driver, a passenger, and a gunner. Aurum, expending no effort at all, hopped up to the gun and began making certain that everything worked properly, and since Shalua had to drive, that meant Shelke was riding shotgun.

Shalua used this opportunity to catch up with Shelke, asking about everything she could think of, trying to find out who her long-lost sister had become in the ten years they'd been separated.

More than a few times, Aurum had a question or two to ask, but kept silent, recognizing that the women in the front of the auto needed time to re-bond. _This_ was their moment of semi-happy reunion, and he wasn't the kind of person to spoil it with something that could wait until later.

However, he got his chance soon enough, since it wasn't more than about ten minutes from Shalua's house to her job. Shalua then led the Transparent and the Blaze into the well-fortified building. It was still fairly early, so the building was empty except for the graveyard shift, who were too tired at that time to ask what one of their highest-ranking scientists was doing with two of the enemy's most powerful soldiers.

As Shalua brought the two former Tsviets into her underground lab, she quickly prepped the Mako tank for Shelke, who then entered it and began to sleep once again, having only had four hours the previous night.

At this point, Reeve Tuesti, head of the WRO, entered the room with some questions about why Shalua had needed the mako ready so quickly and what she'd meant, when he saw Aurum the Blaze. Under normal circumstances, he'd have instantly gone for his sidearm, but didn't, seeing as it would be futile. Tsviets were in the same league as SOLDIER, First Class – and Reeve was a mere human. Internally, he lamented that he hadn't sent an android duplicate instead. _'But then again, Shalua brought him in here without a fight, so there's more to this than meets the eye.'_

The Tsviet and the director of the WRO merely stared at each other, wondering who would make the first move. Whereas Aurum was nonchalant and seemed unconcerned, Reeve was as wary as they came.

Shalua would've said something, but her sister was of somewhat higher priority at the moment.

After another few minutes, Aurum turned away from Reeve and found a chair, before commenting, "If we're going to have a civil conversation, Reeve Tuesti, then I suggest we sit down. Go on, make yourself comfortable; rest assured, I'm not going to attack you. I have something you want, and I'm willing to negotiate with you about it."

As he finished the brief monologue, the Blaze spun his chair around a bit and sat down, leaning against the wall, feet crossed. Reeve, uncertain of what the Deepground soldier was going on about, but playing along for the moment, sat on a bench, though he didn't let his guard down for an instant. Taking a few seconds to marshal his thoughts, he finally asked, "You say you've got something I want. What do you mean by that?"

The collar of Aurum's coat hiding his expression, the Blaze replied, "I'm one of the most powerful warriors in Deepground, with whom you're at war. And despite your dedication and effort, your team is losing. Your opponent basically has you outnumbered, outgunned, has superior training, and will stop at nothing until they've destroyed everything. They've got you beaten in terms of numbers, weaponry, training, and killer instinct. But Shelke and I are among the Tsviets. We've pretty much abandoned Deepground, and can turn the tides of war in your favor."

Aurum leaned forward, focusing entirely on Reeve, and began tapping his temple with his right index finger as he continued, "Right here, I've got intelligence about Deepground's offensive and defensive capabilities as of about three or four days ago. I can tell you how to counter their strengths, and how to exploit their weaknesses. There's data in here that can cripple your enemy if used under the right circumstances. With mine and Shelke's help, you can bring this conflict to a conclusion much faster than without it, and with far fewer innocent casualties. In short, I'm offering you a means to restore peace with less bloodshed."

Reeve was careful not to jump at the chance, though he was certainly hooked on the bait. "It sounds too good to be true. What do you want in exchange?"

Aurum closed his eyes in thought for a few minutes before he said, "I have a number of things that I'll specify later. But in general, I want guaranteed amnesty for myself and for those who serve under me, provide that they also join your cause. Do we have a deal?"

After a few moments of consideration, Reeve agreed. The Blaze then smiled and began to impart a bit of intel. "Let's begin then, shall we? Deepground soldiers are basically in five divisions, each under the command of a Tsviet – although Shelke, due to her lack of killing power, does not command a division. Each division is named for a type of gem that shares the same color as the C.O.'s epithet, and a soldier can be identified as to their division via the color of an armband just under the right shoulder. Also, each division has a different specialty. I'm the commanding officer of Amber Division. The other divisions specialize in one thing or another, whether it be espionage, assassination, or even just charging headlong into enemy lines and causing as much carnage as possible before getting killed. But my Ambers are a bit different. We don't have any one specialty; we're jacks-of-all-trades. We might be the least strict of the five divisions, but we can handle any mission assigned to us, and we're the only division that actually treats its members like people rather than tools. We've even got a motto, as a matter of fact: 'We tend not to fuck around.'"

Reeve's eyebrow began twitching, and he interjected, "I'd prefer to hear cold, objective data, rather than you bragging about your troops."

Aurum's expression instantly grew cold and he fell silent. Closing his eyes for a few minutes, the Tsviet eventually replied, and when he did, his voice had lost any pretense of warmth it held previously. "You want me to be objective, yes? You want me to provide you with nothing but the bare basics, right? You desire only the knowledge required to kill my former comrades. You want to keep thinking of them as the enemy, without giving the focus of your hatred a face. You're afraid of letting yourself begin to believe that your opponents are _people_, just like you. I would be the same way, but there are some things that cannot be spoken about objectively. The screams of a helpless enemy, powerless before you, screaming like an infant for mercy that doesn't exist. The peculiar feeling as you grip your nemesis by their face, still living, and squeeze until you crush their skull like an eggshell, as their hot blood and brains begin to flow across your hands and arm. The texture of a knife in your hand as you stab someone through the stomach and slowly watch the life fades from their eyes, and as you do all of this, you do all of these terrible, monstrous things, you _laugh_. The anguished screams of the enemy forces are music to your ears, and you revel as you massacre the meaningless insects before you, painting the ground and surrounding buildings with the blood and gore of the slain. You don't think of it as an abomination, you see it as a _carnival_. That is what it means to be a Deepground soldier. **That **is what it means to be a _**Tsviet**_. Now tell me something, can _you_ speak of such things objectively?"

Reeve was unable to reply for a few minutes, utterly shocked at Aurum's outburst, even as calmly as it was delivered. "No, I cannot. In the end, Aurum… I suppose you are right. It would seem that, perhaps, I am not so different from you and your former comrades."

Shalua, despite having seen more combat on the front lines than her superior had, was chilled nearly as much as Reeve. However, she recovered first and was about to assure Reeve that that supposition was untrue – though unexpectedly to all, her little sister beat her to it.

Though distorted through the mako, Shelke's words were still clearly distinguishable. "Your self-assessment is incorrect, Reeve Tuesti. The Tsviets consider themselves to be equivalent to gods, and have no regard for life whatsoever. They would rather commit suicide than allow the enemy the satisfaction of killing them. Deepground would annihilate the entire planet with themselves still on it, if given the chance. Deepground is the personification of War. With the exception of myself, Aurum, and Amber Division, battle is the only thing they love, the only thing they understand. And they do not care to learn any alternative way. You are a known pacifist, Reeve Tuesti. You do not enjoy the thought of killing other people, though you are willing to do so in the interests of peace. You are nothing like the Tsviets. You are nothing like… us."

Aurum, not missing a beat, continued from there. "She's right, you know. You are not at all like the Tsviets. You want to keep things impersonal so that ordering the deaths of your enemy becomes easier, and there's nothing at all wrong with that. Every death you're responsible weighs you down, correct? Tsviets – myself and, to a degree, Shelke included – can hear someone's entire life story, get to know them as well as that person knows himself or herself… then cut them down in cold blood without a second thought. You don't get the big picture, not yet. I can kill people and not care, but what's worse than that? I can kill somebody and _forget that it even happened_. That's how little human life matters to the Tsviets…"

Frowning, Shalua asked, "Then why are you helping us, if life is so irrelevant to you?"

Naruto grimaced, before trying to explain. "Please understand me when I say that I am both the same and the opposite as the other Tsviets. I, like Shelke, was forced into the program involuntarily. She and I had different coping mechanisms – we each adapted to the situation as best as we could. Shelke closed off her emotions, so that she wouldn't feel pain or fear. She was like a doll for a long time…"

Opening his eyes again, Aurum continued, "But I didn't close off my emotions. Instead, I suppose you could say I split my consciousness in two. There's the normal me, which is what you're speaking to right now. But then there's also a complete psychopath version of myself, which I created and sometimes became in order to survive Deepground. Now before we progress any further, I want you to understand something, Reeve. The men and women of Amber Division are loyal to me, not Weiss. And because they're my soldiers, and they're good people – relative to the rest of Deepground, at any rate – I'd ask that you take them alive whenever possible. While they appreciate a good brawl, my troops don't actively thirst for blood like the other divisions do. We also aren't as blinded by loyalty to Weiss as the remainder of Deepground is. The Ambers aren't complete monsters, and neither am I. So whenever possible, I want Amber Division troops taken alive. Anyone else… hell, I can kill them for you myself."

* * *

**I'm going to make Naruto's girlfriend Shalua, since pretty much everyone has voted for her thus far. It's going to take a few chapters to develop, so be patient. Granted, five(-ish) votes out of five isn't really a whole lot, but that's about when I closed my similar poll for "Harvester of Sorrow".**

**Anyhow, as always, review. **


End file.
